Obama signals he isn't interested in 'truth commission' to investigate Bush abuses

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Obama signals he isn't interested in 'truth commission' to investigate Bush abuses



John Byrne
Published: Monday February 9, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_signals_he_isnt_interested_in_0209.html

President Barack Obama gave a cool welcome at his Monday night press conference to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy's (D-VT) call for a "truth commission" to probe alleged abuses under George W. Bush, offering a fresh signal that the new president may not be interested in investigating President Bush.

Obama claimed at the first press conference of his presidency that he had not seen the proposal from Sen. Leahy and would have a look at it -- "but my general orientation is to say let's get it right moving forward."

But "my view is also that nobody is above the law. And if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen," Obama said.

Obama's remarks also come just a few weeks after House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) subpoenaed former Bush White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to testify about his knowledge in the firing of Bush US Attorneys and the prosecution of a Democratic Alabama governor. In the subpoena, Conyers invoked Obama and told Rove "it's time to talk."

[babylonsister]

1. And Leahy talked to the WH today. Molehills...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5026281&mesg_id=5026281

[bluestateguy]

2. Let Leahy do the investigating

Obama is busy with the economy.

Leahy can do the Bush investigating.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. How about DOJ doing some of the investigating?

Enough to determine if they need a special prosecutor, anyway.

[Thrill]

6. There is a reason for Judiciary Committees in Congress

Its their job to provide oversight and to investigate. They don't need the DOJ or the President to do their job.

If they find something, then I'm sure the DOJ will prosecute with Obama's approval

[Jackpine Radical]

9. I'm not suggesting otherwise, but there are some things that are already

so obviously criminal that they call for prosecution.

What I'm really skeptical about is the truth & regurgitation commission. They generally end up getting everybody to admit that they were bad boys in exchange for no significant consequences. There may be a place for T&R, but this may not be it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. If it finds anything, the Judiciary Committee will refer it to DOJ.

And then DOJ will take it up if it sees merit.

[ej510]

13. A truth commission is bullshit. If you are going to investigate then

you're right the d.o.j. needs to get to work.

[Thrill]

4. Congress doesn't need the President's approval to do their job

[bottomtheweaver]

5. My impression was more favorable.

First of all I'm not sure he didn't know the Huffpo guy was going to ask about it, but even if he didn't, he took the question pretty seriously. He didn't get that frozen horror look, like "OMG why did I just call on that clown," and he didn't seem to be hustling the question out the back with bullshit.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by his response.

[ProSense]

7. That is a distortion of Obama's response.

Transcript

I swear, you'd think there's an effort to blast these Obama plans to let Bush of the hook headlines all over the place until people actually believe and accept them.

What the hell good will that do when the time comes for someone, anyone, to pursue these cases?

[Telly Savalas]

10. It's from RawStory. That's what they do.

They pull shit like this with such frequency that they're simply not worth reading.

[Occam Bandage]

8. Alternate headline: Obama signals interest in "truth commission."

Seriously, he's pretty obviously playing his cards close to his chest there. He said the "right thing" for both sides of the argument, then left it at that.

[NYC_SKP]

11. Another bullshit swipe at the potus from rawstory. hnmnf.

Obama knows better than to approach this in an in-your-face way.

Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, maybe it's happening right now, but for certain the way to approach investigating Bush is NOT to make it one of his major early efforts, not when he's trying to build consensus on reviving the economy.

I'll reserve judgment of the kind rawstory seems to make it's living.

[AtomicKitten]

14. Raw Story misinterprets "signals" again; that's not at all what he said. n/t

[wyldwolf]

15. my prediction is factually challenged "progressive" sources like this ...

... will lose what little influence they actually have over the next 8 years.

[Connie_Corleone]

16. What the hell is up with Raw Story?

What's the next story from them?

"Obama Signals He's Just Not That in to You."